Defiance
by Lilteeky007
Summary: May and Leaf are best friends who attend Black Thorn Academy, a school created to train students for war. But when their academy is attacked and they're thrown into the war early, they find themselves on a journey to save the world with two unexpected classmates.
1. Chapter 1

May let out a small sigh as she sat relaxed under a tree as a gentle breeze caressed her face. A few strands of her chestnut colored hair tickled her nose as she rested with her arms tucked behind her head. She heard light footsteps make their way toward her and she reluctantly opened her eyes.

"Watcha doin'?" a light voice, that she instantly recognized, asked.

May looked up to see her best friend Leaf Green standing in front of her with a smirk on her face. May frowned at her friends interruption. "Well I WAS sleeping." She replied with a yawn.

"Well I can see that!" Leaf retorted with her hands on her hips.

"Then why did you ask?" May smiled as she once again closed her eyes.

"Because you ditched class again. That lazy attitude of yours is going to get you in detention… again." As soon as she noticed that May had no intention of getting up, Leaf sighed as she sat down next to her.

"You know you have to go to the ceremony." Leaf finally said after a moment of silence, as her brown hair danced in the wind.

May let out a small groan. "Is that today?"

"You could be a little more excited. We're going to be seniors! That means there's only a year until we can go out and join the Defiance!" Leaf said in a giddy voice.

That didn't exactly appeal to May, but she wasn't going to tell her friend that. Leaf wanted to support the cause more than anything, May on the other hand couldn't care less about the stupid war.

Somewhere around a decade ago, a group who called themselves the Opposition took control of the Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh regions. They were a nasty group that wanted nothing more than to control everything and everyone. It was rumored they had their own brainwashing academies where they brainwashed people into joining their group. Though the Hoenn region, where May was from, had yet to be invaded, it was only a matter of time before the Oppression made their way there. For that reason the Defiance was created, in order to protect the remaining regions from the evils of the Oppression. They also created special academies where they trained kids from ages 14 to 18 to be skilled in Pokémon battles to join the Defiance when they graduate.

The academy May attended, Black Thorn Academy, was the first school created for the training of future Defiance recruits and they only accepted the best of the best. Though sometimes May wondered how half the kids there even got in, due to a lack of backbone as Leaf liked to call it.

May finally stood up from her position under the tree as she looked down at her friend.

"Well, let's get this over with," she sighed as she offered her hand to Leaf.

Leaf gratefully took her friends hand as she too stood up and dusted off her uniform which consisted of a black skirt that ended just above her knees, a grey and black vest with a white polo shirt underneath and a blue tie around her neck that signified she was a junior, soon to be senior. May eyed her friend's uniform and looked down at her own. She straightened her own blue tie so as to avoid being scolded by the naggy professors. She stared hard at the school's crest that was so delicately stitched on her vest and once again loosened her tie, if only to show a small amount of rebellion. With that they started walking to the school's auditorium.

May hated her school and everything involving the war, mostly because she was forced by her parents to attend the academy and soon after, join the war. Since she was born and raised in Hoenn, she didn't know why she should go out to a different region and fight someone else's war. Leaf on the other hand lost her parents when Kanto was taken over, she managed to escape the region and joined the academy as soon as she was old enough. She wanted nothing more than to join the war efforts in an attempt to avenge her parent's deaths. May of course sympathized with her friend, but still lacked her own determination. If not for her amazing talents as a trainer, May probably would have been kicked out of the academy a long time ago for her lack of participation in basically every class.

When they finally made it to the entrance of the auditorium May saw a certain grass head standing to the side talking with his spiky haired friend Gary Oak. As soon as said grass head saw her, a smirk made its way onto his face.

"Well look who decided to show up. The sleepy Snorlax decides to grace us with her presence." He mocked with a flip of his oddly colored hair.

"Drew," May huffed. "I see you stepped away from the mirror long enough to make it here yourself."

Drew's smirk grew, "When you have a face as good as mine it's hard not to admire it."

"I seem to manage," May replied.

Leaf looked back and forth between the two and she could almost feel the animosity between them. May and Drew had been rivals since their first day at the academy when Drew beat May in a practice battle during battle class. It was their rivalry that kept them motivated and made them the top two students in their class, and possibly in the school.

"Sometimes I feel like the day isn't complete without those two at each other's throat." Gary said as he watched the scene before him with Leaf.

"I wish they'd just admit they're in love with each other already," Leaf sighed.

"So when are you going to admit you're in love with me?" Gary asked as he leaned into her.

Leaf wrinkled her nose at his comment as she muttered an "As if." She turned her attention back to her best friend as she and Drew were now completely lost in their bickering.

"Why can't you just admit you think I'm attractive?" Drew asked.

"Because you're just about as attractive as a Muk!" May retorted.

Leaf rolled her eyes as she felt a presence behind her and turned around to find her Pokémon Care professor had made his way onto the scene.

"As much fun as it is to listen to you argue, we'd like to get this ceremony started. So if you'd please make your way inside, that would be very helpful." Professor Brock said as he pulled the two away from each other and shoved the group inside the building.

As soon as they were seated, Brock nodded his head to the stage in the front as an indication to start. With that, the head master stood up and made his way to the podium. He was tall and well built with spiked red hair on top of his head. He was rather young to be a head master and could have been no more than 25. Despite his high authority in the school he wasn't one for formalities and he required every student to simply call him Lance.

"Students, today marks the day that you are no longer blue tied Junior's. Instead you are now the ones that the juniors look up to. You're the ones who in the next year will prepare yourselves to go out and fight for friends, fight for this school, and fight for your freedom. I hope that as seniors you will continue to grow with your Pokemon and become the best you can be." Lance finished his speech and the crowd of students let out a series of cheers and whoops.

With that they called out each students names to have them walk up and accept their red ties that indicated they were now seniors. After accepting her tie and returning to her seat, May stared down at the red tie and thought about what Lance had said.

_"Fight for freedom huh…" _She thought to herself. _"What freedom?" _She clenched her new tied in her fist as she glared at it.

* * *

The next day started the beginning of their senior classes and May let out a sigh as she tied her red tie around her neck. Leaf on the other hand sported a huge grin as she tied her own tie and gave it a once over in the mirror.

"How do I look?" She asked from across the room.

May looked over at her roommate and laughed. "Gee I think the new color just makes the outfit look like a whole new uniform!" She said sarcastically as she tied her red bandana on her head.

"Well at least your tie will finally match your bandana. The green tie sophomore year really clashed." Leaf mocked. May felt a smile creep onto her face. Leaf always had a way of making her smile. It was no wonder they were roommates and best friends.

Despite her bad mood, May was actually excited for her first class of the day, which was battle class. It was the only class that she never missed because if there was one thing May loved more than sleeping, it was battling.

Every student had their own partner Pokémon which they received as an egg when they were children. This Pokémon is the only Pokémon they would ever have and the Pokémon that hatches from the egg will determine their future careers and lifestyles. However, some choose to try out for the war efforts instead. If their Pokémon is strong enough and they're good at battling, then they were accepted into an academy where they are trained to fight.

May's partner was her Blaziken. It was never their goal to join in the war, but her parents left her with no choice and so with Blaziken's help, she was easily accepted. She loved nothing more than battling with Blaziken by her side and if she had it her way she would take that class all day.

This year however, luck wasn't on her side as not only was Leaf not in her class, but she noticed a certain grass head was. As soon as she walked onto the battle field with Blaziken she noticed him petting his Flygon with a rare smile that he never seemed to show anyone except for his Pokemon. She chose to ignore him as she saw a familiar face.

"Hey Ash!" She called out to her friend.

"No way, you're in my class this year May?" He exclaimed as she ran over to him.

"It looks like it," she smiled as she looked up at the Pikachu hanging onto Ash's dark messy haired head. "I see you still haven't evolved Pikachu."

"Heck no, Pikachu's fine just the way he is."

"That's something a loser would say." Gary stated as he walked up to them with his Arcanine behind him.

"What did you say?" Ash asked in instant anger.

Ash and Gary were both from the same home town and were in a strange way friends, but also rivals, though Ash usually always lost.

"Just stating a fact Ashyboy." Gary said using his old nickname for Ash.

"I'll show you who the loser is," Ash threatened only to be interrupted by the professor making his way toward the group with his Luxray following close behind.

"Good morning class," he said with a smile as he looked the class over as if to size them up. Professor Volkner was well known in the academy as being the toughest professor who taught only the seniors. May had been excited to finally have a change due to the fact that she had the same battle professor for three years, it was time for someone different.

"He doesn't seem scary at all," Ash commented next to her. As soon as the words left his mouth a surge of electricity hit the ground in front of his feet making him jump back in surprise and fall to the floor.

"Did I say you could talk?" Volkner asked with a glare on his face as his Luxray emitted sparks left over from his attack on Ash. They instantly froze at the terrifying man before them. May couldn't help but wonder how the seemingly nice man from a minute ago had turned into the scary professor who was now glaring in her direction.

"Maple, step forward." He demanded. May quickly scrambled forward.

He stared down at her with his harsh gaze. "I've heard a lot about you. You should stop hanging around riff raff like that, his stupidity might rub off on you." Volkner stated as he point toward Ash who was still on the ground.

Gary snickered as May looked back at her friend as Pikachu attempted to help him up. "With all due respect sir, Ash is a very competent trainer, and who I hang around shouldn't really concern you." She replied with a steady gaze as he stared her down.

The class was silent as they watched the stare down.

"So you trust his abilities as a trainer?" Volkner asked as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. May nodded her head without missing a beat. "Then let's see it." He turned his head to look back at Drew. "Hayden, front and center."

Drew jumped at the sound of his name, but stepped forward with a "Yes sir."

"Let's have a battle, Drew and Oak will go against Maple and Ketchum." May's jaw almost dropped at that. With Flygon being a ground type, Blaziken and Pikachu were at a serious disadvantage. She looked at Drew to find a smirk planted on his face.

"We haven't had a battle in a while Bandana." He said as her eyebrow twitched from the nickname.

"Then this should be interesting Grass head." She replied and his smirk fell as he turned and walked away to take his place by Gary on the battle field.

Ash slowly made his way over to May with a frown. "Sorry I got you into this." He said with his head bowed.

"No worries, it was my fault. Besides, we've got this." She assured him.

Ash didn't seem to have the same confidence as May, but he reluctantly made his way to stand next to her on the field. Their Pokémon all took their places on the field as they waited to start. May started the battle off with a flamethrower aimed at Flygon who easily avoided the attack.

"You should know better than to attack like that May. Flygon, use earthquake!" Drew called out.

Thinking quickly May responded, "Blaziken grab Pikachu!"

Just as Flygon slammed into the ground causing the field to break apart, Blaziken grabbed Pikachu and managed to jump from rock to rock and avoid the attack. Unfortunately Arcanine sent out a flamethrower that caught Blaziken off guard and sent him flying.

"Blaziken!" May cried out as her Pokémon hit the ground hard.

"Pikachu, use thunder bolt!" Ash called out in an attempt to back the opposing Pokémon away. Pikachu's attack forced the opposing Pokémon to back away as Blaziken stood back up. May glanced over at Pikachu. His electric attacks wouldn't have any effect against Flygon so she knew that she had to take care of him.

"Ash, focus your attacks on Arcanine." She informed him and he replied with a quick nod.

"Blaziken, use another flamethrower on Flygon!" She ordered and Blaziken quickly followed her command. Flygon once again dodged the attack. Meanwhile Arcanine sent a flamethrower toward Pikachu.

"Dodge it with quick attack!" Ash yelled. May looked over to see Pikachu dodge the attack with ease and slam himself into Arcanine, but because of how small he is, Pikachu's attack didn't do much damage.

"Aracanine use bite!" Gary called out and the canine Pokémon clamped his jaws around Pikachu causing him to cry out in pain.

"Blaziken!" May yelled out. Blaziken started to move toward the struggling Pikachu, but was cut off by Flygon.

"Ash, do something!" May scolded as Ash seemed frozen.

Ash seemed to collect himself as he finally made a move. 'Pikachu, use thunder wave!"

Pikachu sent out a wave of electricity that instantly paralyzed Arcanone on the spot and allowed the small rodent to break free.

While Drew seemed distracted by his partner's Pokémon, he failed to remember his own and Blaziken hit it with a sky upper cut. Drew realized he needed to counter attack and had Flygon use a dragon tail that caught Pikachu off guard and sent him flying. Blaziken jumped up to grab Pikachu before he hit the ground and suffered any more damage.

"Blaziken use blaze kick!" May ordered as Blaziken set down the dazed Pikachu. Blaziken quickly jumped up and sent a flurry of fiery kicks at Flygon who barely managed to dodge.

"Flamethrower!" Both trainers called out and the attacks hit each other causing a large explosion in the middle of the field. Neither Pokémon looked like they were going to back down.

May realized the only way to get Flygon was if she could some how get above him. With that thought she had Blaziken use another sky upper cut. The attack missed, but it put Blaziken right above Flygon.

"Now use blaze kick!" May ordered. Drew realized it too late and his eyes widened, however, just as Blaziken was about to execute the attack, he was hit by a flamethrower. This time Blaziken slammed into the still recovering Pikachu and knocked him out. Blaziken started to stand back up, but was hit by a combined hyper beam from Arcanine and Flygon, sending him back to the ground knocked out.

May stared in disbelief at her now fainted Pokémon. The class let out a cheer at the intense battle and went to congratulate Drew and Gary.

"I'm sorry," Ash said to May as he picked up Pikachu.

May ran Blaziken, who was slowly standing back up, and turned to Ash. "What for? That was a good battle." She replied with a smile. Even though she lost, May still enjoyed herself. Nothing beat a good heated battle.

May took out her Pokémon aid kit and went to work taking care of Blaziken's wounds while Ash did the same for Pikachu. After she felt he was patched up nice, she sent him back to the Pokémon housing area to rest.

"I want you all to take notice, because that is how a battle should be." Volkner said with a smile as he gripped May and Drew's shoulders causing both teens to flinch from his strong grip.

"I want an eight hundred word paper about it due tomorrow!" He finished cheerfully causing the class to groan. With that the class was dismissed and May made her way to her next class.

May's next class was also one that she enjoyed, and that was combat training. It was not only important that their Pokémon were strong, but the students also needed to know how to defend themselves. Luckily for May, Leaf was in this class with her, but much to her dismay, so was Drew. Their professor was Lt. Surge who was the same professor she has last year. He was a very well built man, and May questioned whether or not he was on steroids based on the size of his massive arms.

"Alright you all know the drill. I'm going to pair you up with someone who I feel will help you learn and improve, and that will be your partner for the rest of the year." Surge said as he looked over a piece of paper in his hand. "Leaf and Misty," He read off. May felt a pang of disappointment as Leaf waved to her as she walked over to Misty. "Dawn and Iris," May was now pleading that she didn't get stuck with a certain someone. "Since we have an odd number of girls, May will be partnered with Drew." May's heart sank as she eyed her "partner." Drew gave her an innocent look as he played with the weapon in his hands. Drew was very efficient with a sword and May swallowed a lump in her throat. While she could manage well enough in hand to hand combat, she was better with a bow. Her hope was that she would be partnered with someone less advanced.

"Um professor, I think you made a mistake, I'm usually partnered with someone who works with distance weapons." May said to Surge. He looked down at her petite form and grinned. "There's no mistake, you need to be efficient in all types of fighting and I feel that Drew will be very helpful to you."

May reluctantly made her way back over to Drew who was waiting patiently by the wall of weapons. "Here," he said as he handed her two small daggers. "I think it would be too much for you to try using a sword, so its best to start off with a simple weapon.

"I know how to use other weapons besides a bow!" May seethed as she snatched them from his hand.

"Well excuse me." Drew muttered under his breath. Of course Drew knew May had no experience with other weapons, but he figured he'd let her embarrass herself if she wanted.

"Ready?" He asked as they positioned themselves. May's only response was getting into a battle stance. Drew smirked and that's all it took to set May off, and with that she charged him with a flurry of attacks. Drew easily either dodged them or blocked them with his sword. It bothered her that while May was trying her best, Drew just seemed to be playing with her.

While they were evenly matched in Pokémon battling, Drew always seemed to be ahead of her in everything else. This of courses irritated May to no end, and she was so lost in her frustration she completely missed a swing giving Drew the chance he needed to swing his sword and knock the dagger out of her right hand. With that he swung his sword under her feet completely knocking her onto the floor. May looked up with a glare to find the tip of a sword pointed directly at her face.

"Lesson number one: It's important to keep a cool head," he said as he flicked his hair. May huffed as she stood herself up.

"We'll see how cool your head is when I put an arrow through it!" She threatened. It was one thing to lose to Drew once, but twice in the same day was too much.

"Bring it on Bandana!" He replied.

Before the two could attack each other for real, Surge decided to end the class. Both teens glared at each other before stomping away.

The rest of the day seemed very uneventful for May as she went from class to class. To her, senior year seemed pretty pointless. All of her classes were slightly more advanced repeats of classes she had already taken. Most of it was pointless information she already knew. By the end of the day she was practically jumping out of her seat in anticipation for it to be over. As soon as the class ended she jumped from her seat and headed for the door only to be stopped by her professor who informed her that the head master wanted to see her.

May bit her lip as she wondered what the man could possibly want from her, it wasn't like she'd done anything bad... recently. Of course even if she had, she'd never been called to Lance. Usually she'd just get a short lecture from someone like Professor Brock. She stood outside the door to Lance's office as she thought about running in the opposite direction. Before she could make her final decision the door opened.

"Are you going to stand outside my door all day?" Lance questioned as he looked down at the brunette. She quickly made her way into the room as he shut the door and returned to his desk.

"Am I in trouble?" She asked cautiously as she lingered by the door.

Lance eyed her nervous form in amusement as he folded his hands in front of his face while leaning on his elbows.

"Fortunately for you, this time, no you're not in trouble." He finally said and noticed her instantly relax.

She made her way from the door to the chair in front of his desk and plopped herself down.

"So why am I here?" She asked.

Lance's eyebrows shot up. "Don't tell me you forgot that every senior is required to have a meeting with me discussing plans for when you graduate?"

May gave him a blank expression indicating she had never even heard about it.

"Honestly, do you pay attention in any of your classes?" Lance sighed. He had heard about her ditching class a lot, but he had no idea she cared so little about them. He half wondered how she managed to pass.

"Of course, I got an A in battle tactics." She stated proudly.

Lance rubbed his temples in frustration. The girl may be talented in fighting, but she was certainly going to be a headache for whoever gets her when she graduates. IF she graduates anyway.

"But the thing is, I don't really care where I go after graduation." She said in a low voice.

Lance looked up to see a sullen look on the girl's face. A realization hit him. All this time he'd thought she goofed around and wanted out of the school because she was eager to be in the war. It appeared to him now that it was quite the opposite.

"Is that so? So you have no preferences?" He questioned.

May was silent for a minute as she thought about it, "I guess wherever my friend Leaf goes." She finally said. Lance nodded his head.

"You're a loyal friend," he said as she watched him write something down in the notebook on his desk.

"So is that it?" She asked as she stood up eager to get away from Lance's intense gaze. He simply nodded and she quickly bolted from the room.

Lance watched the small girl race out of his office with one thought. There was more to May Maple than just a rebellious teenager. He could tell she was certainly destined for great things.

* * *

**So this idea has been on my mind for a while now and I finally decided to write it up and see how it goes. I'm also planning on refraining from using any OCs in this story. As such that means that I own none of the characters, much to my dismay! ;) Not sure how far I'll take this story, but I'm already pretty far with the second chapter so there's that. ****And now that I'm done talking please feel free to leave review or favorite, if you want to that is.**


	2. Chapter 2

After her meeting with Lance, May was eager to go to the Pokémon housing and visit with Blaziken. When she arrived she found a man was already there feeding her Pokémon pokepuffs. Blaziken noticed her as she walked up and the man turned around to look at her. She instantly recognized him as a professor at the school, though she never had his class.

"I was wondering who this wonderful Pokémon belonged to." He said with a bright smile.

May instantly noticed that up close he didn't really look like a professor, but that might have been because he looked rather young. "That's me," she replied.

"I don't believe I've ever had you as a student. I'm professor Sycamore."

"I'm May."

His smile grew as soon as he heard her name. "May Maple?"

"The one and only," she replied.

"You've done a good job raising your Blaziken." He commented as he gave Blaziken a pat on the head.

"Thanks, but I think he raised me more than I raised him," she said as she pulled an apple out of her bag and handed it to her Pokémon, which he happily accepted.

Sycamore stared with interest as May watched Blaziken eat the apple and hand him another. There was a shine in her sapphire eyes when Blaziken seemed to thank her.

"There's a strong bond between the two of you that is quite special."

May turned her attention to the professor with curiosity. He pulled a chain out of his pocket with a small stone attached.

"I think you should have this. It'll be more useful to you than me." He said as he put the chain in her hand.

May looked at the stone in her hand and wondered what it could possibly be useful for. She looked back up ready to ask, but found the professor was no longer there.

"Where did he go?" She asked as she looked around. Blaziken just shrugged as he munched on another apple.

* * *

May stared at the stone that was now hanging around her neck as she left the Pokémon housing. She sat with Blaziken for a few hours thinking about it, but found nothing special about it. Perhaps professor Sycamore was just crazy. It certainly seemed like a real possibility. She let out a sigh as she tucked it behind her shirt.

As she walked, she thought back to her combat practice with Drew. Lt. Surge had a point when he said she needed practice in hand to hand combat. While it was a little unfair of him to partner her with Drew, she had to admit she didn't just lose because he was more advanced. Her own skills were lacking. She looked up to the sky and found that there was still about an hour left of day light, which was plenty of time to get in a little practice. With her mind made up, she headed toward the training room.

May was a little surprised to find when she arrived that Drew was already there. He didn't notice her walk in and was doing some practicing of his own. She watched him in awe at the way he handled his sword. It was as if it was a part of him, making his movements so smooth and graceful it almost appeared as if he were dancing. Drew finally paused to catch his breath and grabbed a bottle of water. As he was taking a drink he saw a figure in the corner of his eye. He nearly choked on his water when he saw that it was May making her way toward him.

"Wow Drew, I had no idea you were so talented." She commented.

Drew stared at her trying to decide if she was being sarcastic. He thought about replying something witty, but instead settled with a thanks.

The two stood in awkward silence unsure of what to say. Drew went back to drinking his water and noticed May repeatedly glance at him and then quickly look away.

May noticed Drew must have been training for a while as sweat gleamed on his face. To her it somehow made him more attractive. That is if she actually thought he was attractive… which she didn't… did she?

May seemed to be having some inner turmoil and Drew just watched with curiosity. "Is there a reason you came in here?" He finally asked, breaking her out of her annoying thoughts.

"To train. Why else would I be here?" She replied as her brain got back on track.

"And to think I thought it was to just stare at me. I was half expecting you to confess your undying love for me." He said with a smirk.

"In your dreams!" She retorted.

His smirk grew bigger as if he were about to reply, but May stormed away to the wall where the weapons hung.

Drew watched as she selected a pair of daggers and then paused. She turned her gaze to him as he stared at her with an amused expression. No way was she going to practice that with Drew watching. He'd laugh her out of the building. She tucked the daggers in her belt and instead reached for a bow and a quiver full of arrows.

She walked passed Drew who was now leaning on his sword watching her actions with amusement. She stopped when she felt she was a great enough distance from the target and pulled an arrow out of the quiver. She pointed the bow toward the ground as she positioned her arrow and in once swift motion she raised and drew the bow. She let out a breath as she took her aim and released, hitting right in the bulls eye.

May turned around to give Drew a smug look. He had to admit, while she needed work with hand to hand combat, May was flawless with a bow. He was ready to give a compliment when they heard a large explosion and the whole building shook. The lights flashed for a second before cutting off.

"What was that?" May asked as they looked around.

"Whatever it was, it didn't sound good." Drew replied as he gripped his sword tightly and ran toward the exit, making sure to grab his backpack on the way out.

"Wait for me!" May called after him as she followed behind, making sure to grab her own bag on the way.

As she ran outside she couldn't believe what she saw. The school's main building was covered in flames, clearly the source of the explosion. The courtyard was full of people. Figures dressed in red and black uniforms were battling it out with students and professors. Pokémon were fighting on the ground and in the sky and bodies were quickly pilling up.

May was frozen on the spot. She had never seen so many dead bodies, many of which consisted of young freshmen who didn't know how to fight well enough to really defend themselves. Her hands were shaking as her grip on her bow increased. Drew was standing next to her, in his own state of disbelief. However, he was brought back to reality when a man rushed toward them. He charged toward May who was too frozen to react, but Drew did. Just as the man brought his sword down, Drew stopped it with his own. With their swords as an x the two were in a battle of strength. Thinking quickly, Drew pushed with all his might causing the man to stumble back. He then kicked him sending him falling to the ground. Without thinking Drew brought down his sword, ending the fight.

With that he turned to May and shook her shoulders.

"Snap out of it! We don't have time for you to lose it now!" He yelled at her.

May blinked at him before coming to her senses.

"I'm sorry," she said as she eyed the now dead man on the ground. Another man came charging toward them and she readied her bow taking aim at his heart, but she couldn't bring herself to release the arrow. Knowing she had to do something she aimed her arrow up and shot him in the shoulder, sending him falling to the ground in pain.

"We have to move, but we should stick together." Drew said as he cut down another man in uniform.

May was about to agree with him when she spotted smoke to her left, right where the Pokémon housing was located.

"Blaziken!" She yelled as she ran off toward the smoke.

"Dammit May!" Drew yelled as he ran after her.

May's petite form was easily able to maneuver through the crowd and Drew quickly lost sight of her.

_"That idiot is going to get herself killed." _ He thought to himself as he lost her in the chaos.

As May arrived on the scene of the burning building she frantically tried to find her Pokémon, though it didn't take her long. Blaziken, along with a few other fire types, was jumping in and out of the fire in an attempt to save as many Pokémon from the flames as he could. May couldn't help but smile to herself at her Pokémon's selfless actions.

May then heard a scream behind her and found a small freshman girl being cornered by a man in uniform. Without missing a beat she fired an arrow into the guy's back. He fell to the ground in pain, but May figured he'd live. The small girl looked at May with frightened eyes and ran off. May attempted to go after her, but someone grabbed her arm.

"That was a good shot, I think you'll do nicely." The creepy man purred into her ear.

"Let go," she said as she turned around and tried to hit him with her free arm, which he easily grabbed.

"You're coming with me girly." He said as he brought her face close to his.

Before the man could do anymore, a sword pierced through his stomach causing May to let out a surprised scream. The man crumbled to the floor as her savior pulled the sword out.

"What part of stick together did you not understand?" Drew asked with a sigh as he looked her over to make sure she wasn't injured.

"Drew, they're taking people." Was all she could say.

He nodded as he looked around. "It looks like they're killing the students they think are weak, and are taking those that can hold their own."

Blaziken finally noticed May and quickly ran over to her.

"We have to find Leaf," May said as soon as her Pokémon was by her side.

Drew nodded as he put his fingers to his mouth and let out a loud whistle. Within seconds his Flygon flew down to them.

"I need you to find Leaf," he told his Pokémon.

Flygon nodded his head as he took off to the sky. They followed after him as he flew back toward the large battle. Flygon soon found who he was looking for and started flying circles in one spot.

"There!" Drew told May as they ran to where Flygon was circling.

As they broke through the crowd they could see Leaf. Her Ivysaur was next to her smacking away anyone who came too close with his vines, while Leaf did her best with her sword. She kept glancing behind her with worry. May followed her friend's gaze to find a familiar Arcanine defending an unconscious Gary. Upon noticing his injured friend Drew quickened his pace. May watched in horror as a grunt managed to get through Leaf's defenses and slash at her leg causing her to crumble to the ground with a shriek of pain. Just as the man made a step toward Leaf, May shot an arrow that pierced through his neck. As the man fell to the ground May and Drew ran up.

"May! Thank goodness, I was worried they got you." Leaf said as she clutched her now bleeding leg.

"What happened?" May asked as Drew managed to calm down Arcanine and get to his friend.

"I was with Gary looking for you two when a Pokémon attacked me from behind. The idiot jumped in the way." She said as she choked back a sob. "Is he okay?" She asked as Drew walked up with Arcanine who had Gary slung over his back.

"He'll live," Drew said as he looked at the battle. It was obvious that the men in black and red were winning. There were mostly only professors still standing. There were many students, mostly upperclassmen, being carried away.

"May, Drew, Leaf!" They all turned their heads to find Lance running toward them.

"Thank goodness you're all still standing." He said as he looked them over, but frowned when he saw Gary. "You must get out of here."

"We can't just leave-" Drew started, but was cut off when Lance lifted a hand to silence him.

"This school is a lost cause now. You must flee." He told them.

They all looked a little reluctant. He reached into his cloak and pulled something out.

"Take this," he said as he held it out.

"What is it?" May asked as she eyed the instrument.

"This is the Azure Flute." He said as he handed the flute to May. "This is the only thing that can save us now."

"What? How?" Leaf asked as she leaned on Drew's shoulder in support of her injured leg.

"That's not important at the moment. You are all a part of the Defiance now. You must take this flute to Mt. Silver." He told them firmly.

"In the Johto region?" Drew questioned.

Lance nodded his head. "At the top of Mt. Silver you will find Red. You must take the flute to Red."

"Red? Like the color?" May asked skeptically.

"Red will know what to do with it. He's our only hope now." Lance said as two men in uniforms found their group and charged them. Before they could get any closer a Dragonite dropped from the sky and smacked them away with its tail.

"You must go now!" Lance ordered them as he turned to find more men approaching.

They all nodded reluctantly and started toward the forest that surrounded the school. Noticing that Leaf was slowing them down, Blaizken scooped her up in his arms. As they ran May noticed Ash out of the corner of her eye. She slowed down as she watched him fighting it out with three guys, with only Pikachu helping. Just then a man came up behind him and hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out. With that they caged Pikachu and took off with them.

"Ash!" She gasped as she started toward him. Drew quickly grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"There's nothing you can do, he's gone now!" He stated.

"No, we have to help him!" May struggled as she tried to pull her wrist free.

"You're just going to get yourself killed!" He argued.

"What do you care?" She seethed.

Drew glared at her for the remark. Sure he'd pick a fight with her now and then, but he never thought he'd come across as someone who didn't care for her. It was actually quite the opposite. Not wanting to waste any more time he looked to the sky for his Flygon. Flygon flew down next to them and Drew picked May up and threw her on the Pokémon.

"Get her out of here!" He told his Pokémon and with that Flygon flew off with a very upset May.

"Drew!" She yelled at him with anger as Flygon flew her toward the forest. With May no longer holding them back the group made their way to safety in the forest.

* * *

After walking for over an hour the group finally decided to stop and take care of Leaf's leg. Although May ditched a lot of her classes, she did manage to learn a few things about first aid. As Drew scouted the area May took care of the cut on Leaf's leg with the small first aid kit that she kept in her bag.

"It wasn't too deep, so I think you'll be okay." May said as she finished wrapping up the wound.

"Are any of us going to be okay?" Leaf asked as she stared hard at her friend.

"Of course we are," May assured her with the best smile she could muster, though both knew it was fake. She left Leaf leaning against a tree with her Ivysaur as Drew reappeared.

May was still upset at him for leaving Ash, but she chose not to bring it up. He sat down in front of the small fire that Blaziken set up and she joined him.

"What do we do now?" She asked him quietly.

He didn't seem like he was going to respond at first as he stared into the fire. "We do what Lance told us to do." He finally answered.

"How are we going to do that? Look at us." She said as she motioned to Leaf leaning against the tree and Gary laying against Arcanine a few feet away. He followed her gaze and sighed.

"For now we rest. We'll leave first thing in the morning and head to Pedalburg City. "He said as he ran his hand through his messy hair.

They sat in silence for a while as the day's events played through their minds. May couldn't help but wonder how Drew managed to remain calm through the whole thing. She couldn't even bring herself to kill someone, aside from the one who attacked Leaf, while Drew was able to kill so many effortlessly. She had thought that because she was good at Pokémon battles that she was an even rival for him, but the truth was, Drew was leagues ahead of her.

She eyed the weary teen next to her. His clothes were a mess and had a few specks of blood splattered across them, while his face looked tired and worn. She was sure that she probably didn't look any better. But if it wasn't for Drew, May realized that she probably would've died in that mess. She realized she still had her bow tightly gripped in her hand and she set it aside as she allowed herself to calm down.

"Are you okay?" He asked after noticing her shaking hands.

"I'm not so sure myself," she said with a nervous laugh as she stood up.

"I'm going to go rest," she said as she walked over to Leaf and sat down next to her. The two girls rested their heads on each other in a form of comfort as they closed their eyes.

That left Drew with the first watch, but he preferred it that way. He watched the two sleeping girls for a minute before turning back to the fire. Flygon jumped from the tree he was sharing with Blaziken and settled down next to him.

"We're in quite a mess, aren't we?" He said as he patted the Pokémon's head. Flygon let out a small cry of agreement.

After a few hours Gary finally woke up. He was surprised to see the two sleeping girls, but let out a breath when he realized who they were. He was especially relieved to see that Leaf didn't appear to be seriously injured.

He stood up and walked over to Drew while rubbing his very sore head.

"Did I miss anything?" He asked as he sat down.

Drew was startled at first by his friend's appearance, but relaxed when he sat down. He then proceeded to tell the brunette boy about the flute and what Lance sent them off to do.

"So how do we know Petalburg wasn't attacked too?" Gary questioned after Drew informed him of their plan.

"We don't, but we aren't exactly full of supplies right now. Plus, we have no way of getting to Johto." Drew stated sounding frustrated.

"Alright, then we'll head to Johto in the morning, but for now I think you should rest a little." Gary said as he saw just how worn out his friend looked.

"Will you be okay taking watch?"

"I'm fine, who do you think you're talking to?" Gary replied with a smirk.

Drew was too tired to argue and just leaned against his Flygon and shut his eyes. He was rudely awoken in the morning by a loud shrilly voice.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Leaf yelled.

Drew reluctantly opened his eyes to find May trying to hold up a fuming Leaf as she yelled at his friend.

"Why in the world would you jump in front of me like that? You could've died!"

"A normal person would say thank you." He said with a nonchalant shrug.

"You're an idiot Gary Oak! I didn't need you to do that!" She fumed.

Clearly the girl was overreacting, but Drew didn't want to get in the way of her anger. If she was anything like May when she was angry, then she'd be a force to be reckoned with.

"He just didn't want you to get hurt. I think it's kind of sweet." May reasoned with her friend.

Leaf huffed and she limped back to her tree and sat down.

"So how far is it to Petalburg City?" May asked as Drew got up.

"Probably about an hour or so," He answered as he stretched.

The group then made their way toward the city with Leaf riding on Arcanine. After an hour of walking they saw what seemed to be smoke in the distance. They quickened their pace and finally stopped on cliff that looked over the city, and found that it too had been attacked. They all froze in disbelief as fires still filled the streets.

"No way," May whispered as she watched her home town burn to the ground.

"Do you think there's anyone left?" Leaf asked as she looked wearily at her best friend.

"It looks like they're rounding up civilians." Gary commented as he watched some rather intimidating Pokémon round up a large group of scared people.

May was in disbelief. If they had taken Petalburg, did that mean the rest of Hoenn was attacked too? Was anywhere safe? She wondered about her family. Her parents were probably in that crowd of people, not that she really cared, but what about her brother? He had just joined an academy as a freshman. Was that school attacked to? Was her brother brutally cut down, unable to defend himself, just like the freshmen at her school?

Completely consumed by her thoughts, May fell to her knees as tears streamed down her face. The others just stared at her in shock. The fearless May was crying? She had seemed so composed up to that point, but of course she was just a scared kid, just like the rest of them. Leaf crouched down next to her friend and wrapped her arms around her as tears fell down her own face. The two boys watched the crying girls, but didn't move. They weren't quite sure if it was their pride, or just them trying to be strong for the sake of the two crying on the floor, but they stood staring at the city, their faces void of emotion.

* * *

**So I've grown quite fond of this story. I'm still not completely sure where it's going to go, but I like it. Thanks to all those that favorited and followed this story, you make me happy. Also thanks to I'll Break Your Heart, don't worry, your review did nothing but make me smile! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

"We need to move on now," Drew finally said after a while. The two girls wiped away their tears as they stood up.

"What do we do now?" May questioned. The three brunette teens turned to look at Drew. He half wondered when he was nominated leader of the group. He opened his mouth to answer them when they heard a twig snap behind them. They all whipped around and into battle stances. Arcanine let out a low growl as May readied her bow on whatever was about to emerge from the forest.

"Easy now, I don't mean you any harm." An old voice said as an old man made his way out of the forest with his arms up in surrender.

"Who are you? What are you doing out here?" Gary inquired.

"The name's Mr. Briney, and this is my darling Peeko." He said as he gestured to the small Wingull that flew down and landed on his shoulder.

"Peeko here saw you kids wandering the forest and led me to you." The small Wingull let out a tiny chirp.

"That still doesn't tell us why you're out here." Gary said sounding impatient. May rolled her eyes at his comment. Clearly the frail old man wasn't a threat the them. She lowered her bow and Mr. Briney let out a sigh of relief.

He looked around him as if they were in danger. "Come with me and I'll explain everything." He said as he started back toward the forest. The four teens glanced at each other before nodding and following the old man. It wasn't as if they had many options, and he seemed innocent enough.

The group followed Mr. Briney to a small cabin deep in the woods. It was covered well by the plants of the forest, and a person could easily walk passed it if they didn't know it was there.

"I had no idea this was even here," May mused as she stepped inside, followed by her friends. The Pokémon chose to wait outside since they wouldn't all fit.

"That's because I picked the deepest point of the forest to build this cabin." Mr. Briney said as he made his way to a small cabinet and pulled out a first aid kit. "Your friend's bandages look like they should be changed." He said as he handed May the kit and motioned toward Leaf's leg. Her bandage was stained red with blood. Leaf took the kit and sat on the couch to change her bandages. To her relief, it looked like it would heal quickly.

"So why did you build a cabin in the middle of Petalburg Woods?" Drew questioned as he leaned against the wall.

"As a small get away, I come down here this time every year to relax." The old man replied as he stroked his beard.

"So it's pretty convenient that you were out here in hiding when we were attacked." Gary said as he narrowed his eyes as he sat on the floor. May and Leaf both shot him a glare telling him to drop the attitude.

"Actually, I was in the city with my friend when it happened. He and his Pokémon are quite the force, but they couldn't stand up to the power of The Oppression. They took him away and I was barely able to escape. I went to the academy for help, but I found that it had also fallen. It was a miracle to find you kids." Mr. Briney said with his head hung low. The teens all flinched at the memory of their school.

"Do you think there are others from the academy wandering the forest like us?" Leaf asked from her spot on the small sofa she shared with May as she finished changing her bandage.

"Perhaps, but it doesn't matter. We have our mission, we don't have time to wander the forest looking." Drew said, causing Leaf to frown.

"I would think you'd put in a little more consideration for the lives of your classmates. Then again, when have you at all?" May told him with a glare.

Drew narrowed his eyes at May. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well you left Ash to get taken by those monsters, so why would you care about any of the others either?" She said, her voice practically oozing venom.

"You think I wanted to leave him? If you had gone after him they would've just taken you too!" He countered as he pushed himself off the wall.

"You don't know that! I could have saved him!" She yelled as she too stood up.

"Or you could have gotten hurt!"

"I'm not as weak as you think I am!"

"I never said you were weak!" He bit back.

"Not out loud, but you think it!" She seethed.

"Why are you acting like a crazy person?" He exclaimed.

The two were now glaring in each others face.

"Geez, cut it out you two." Gary said cautiously as he stepped in between the two glaring teens. They both let out a huff as they went back to their spots.

"I hope you don't mind me being nosey, but what exactly is it that you have to do?" Mr. Briney questioned.

The boys looked reluctant to answer, but May didn't see any reason to distrust the man.

"We need to get to the Johto region." She told him, causing both boys to glare at her.

"Well you'd need a boat to get there," Briney said as he stroked his beard.

"Now you see our dilemma." Leaf said with a sigh.

"That's not too big of a problem, I happen to have a boat in Slateport City and would be more than happy to give you kids a lift." The old man said with a smile.

"Really? You'd do that?" Leaf exclaimed.

Briney nodded, "Of course, I want to get home to Slateport to find my son. However, it's a dangerous journey to get there. We'll call a boat ride a payment for taking me safely to Slateport."

The teens all looked around at each other. They needed a boat, that was for sure, and their only bet was Mr. Briney.

"Deal," Drew said as he and the old man shook hands.

"Then we'll let you kids rest up, and leave in the morning."

* * *

The next morning the group headed out. Drew lead the way followed by Gary with Briney in the middle and the two girls following behind with Arcanine and Ivysaur. Flygon flew overhead to keep an eye out while Blaziken leaped from tree to tree to have his own vantage point.

"We have to be cautious. We don't just have The Oppression to worry about, wild Pokemon can be very dangerous." Drew said as they walked.

"We're not stupid," May muttered. Leaf gave her a cautious glance as Drew glared over his shoulder. May had been in a bad mood since her spat with Drew the night before, and it made Leaf a little uneasy. They were in a life or death situation and in order to survive they had to work together. With May and Drew at each others throats, they could potentially put the whole group at risk.

"Don't you think you should go easy on Drew?" Leaf whispered to her friend.

"What do you mean?" May questioned.

"You're acting a little bitter toward him, don't you think?" Leaf pushed.

"What? No I'm not." May denied as she looked back up to Drew. He stole a glance back at them and she glared at him. With a glare of his own he turned back around causing Gary to give them questioning stares.

"So the stress of everything may have caused a little tension. It's nothing to worry about, we always fight." Leaf gave May a knowing look.

"Alright, I'll apologize." May huffed as she picked up her speed to catch up with Drew and Gary.

Without missing a beat Gary slowed his pace to walk next to Leaf. He slung his arm over her shoulder which she immediately shrugged off. At least those two hadn't changed.

"I'm not really in the mood for your bad attitude May." Drew said while keeping his face looking forward. May was a little annoyed at that. Here she was going out of her way to come over to apologize, and he was being a jerk. She had half a mind to walk back over to Leaf and forget the apology, but she knew her friend would nag her about it.

"Chill, I came to apologize for what I said last night." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, and she continued. "It was wrong of me to blame you for what happened to Ash, I know you were just protecting me. I was just frustrated by everything." She said with a sigh.

Drew remained silent for a minute and May thought he wasn't going to replay, when he finally said "I never thought I'd here an apology from you of all people." He finally turned his head to look at her. "I wasn't sure sorry was even in your vocabulary."

May instantly narrowed her eyes. "Why can't you just take the apology like a normal person?" She seethed. A smirk made its way onto his face as he watched her reaction.

"Because getting a reaction out of you is much more fun." He said with a shrug.

"You're such a jerk!" She yelled at him as she tried to punch his arm, but he easily stepped out of the way, causing her to stumble and his smirk to grow.

Leaf, Gary, and Briney watched them in amusement.

"Glad to see them back to normal." Leaf said with a sigh of relief.

"Do they always bicker like that?" Mr. Briney questioned.

"Yes," Leaf and Gary replied instantly.

* * *

The group walked for what seemed like hours. After a while Mr. Briney had gotten tired so they let him ride on Arcanine, but now the rest of the group was starting to get tired. May felt like her legs were turning into jelly, and Drew refused to let them take even a small break.

"Can we please take a break?" May begged as she stopped and fell to the ground on her knees. The rest of them turned to look at her pouting form and rolled their eyes.

"Would you stop complaining? We're almost out of the forest." Drew stated, sounding incredibly annoyed.

"You said that same thing an hour ago!" She whined.

"She has a point, we could use all use a break. We've been walking for hours without rest." Leaf reasoned.

Drew looked between the two girls and let out a sigh. "Fine, ten minutes." He said as he glanced around. He'd had an uneasy feeling for the past few hours, as if they were being watched. With nothing but a mysterious forest surrounding them, anything could happen.

May and Leaf sat down with sighs of relief as their aching muscles relaxed. Their Pokemon joined them as they too relaxed next to their trainers. Mr. Briney stretched his muscles while Gary petted Arcanine's fur as thanks for carrying the old man. Flygon perched in a tree while Drew climbed another and sat on a branch. He surveyed the area, but with so many trees it was hard to really spot anything. His gaze traveled back down to the two girls sitting on the ground. They almost looked so innocent in his eyes. Just a couple of teenage girls without a care in the world, but he knew better. They were scared, and tired, and they had every right to be. Their whole lives had been flipped upside down only a day ago.

What was Lance thinking? They were just a group of four scared kids. If that flute was so important, why in the world would he entrust them with it? Of course if he had to give it to students, they were perhaps the best team for it. He and Gary were both very skilled with a sword, not to mention they had powerful partner Pokemon. Leaf could also hold her own with a sword, but was exceptionally skilled at medicine and poisons. With her Ivysaur's powders she's made all sorts of them. Then there was May, talented beyond belief with a bow. What she lacked in close range combat, she made up for with her powerful Blaziken. It was obvious she put a lot of time in training with her Pokemon, the two were an impressive team. Looking at their tired group now, however, you would never guess they all had such talent.

Drew leaned back against the tree, he hadn't realized how exhausted he was until then. Maybe he was being a little to hard on the group, as important as it was to get out of the forest, it was also important to take a break now and then. If they were tired, they wouldn't fair well if they were attacked. Just as this thought crossed his mind, he heard a quiet chuckle behind him. He turned around wide eyed as he saw a man standing on the branch slightly behind his.

_"When did he-?" _Drew didn't have time to finish his thought as a boot hit him in the chest and sent him flying out of the tree. He landed on the ground with a grunt causing the rest of the group to jump up in alert.

He heard another laugh as a woman came out of the bushes across from the man in the tree. She was a beautiful woman with really long hot pink hair. He immediately noticed their red and black uniforms."The Oppression," Gary hissed. They had found them.

"What do we have here Jess?" The man said as he jumped down from the tree, causing his blue chin length hair to sway.

"Looks to me like a couple of escaped students who better prepare for trouble, James." The woman, Jess, replied.

"I'd make that double," James purred.

The teens instantly backed toward each other to form a circle around Mr. Briney. Leaf, Gary, and Drew pulled out their swords while May readied her bow and took aim at James. The Pokemon stayed where they were but let out growls of warning.

"Jessie, I think they plan to fight back." James laughed as a Weezing floated up next to him.

A large intimidating Arbok slithered over to Jessie as she too laughed. "That's rather adorable." She replied.

Drew could feel his hands shaking, he wasn't sure if it was from being so exhausted, or if it was from the intimidation the two goons were giving off. They seemed different than the one's that attacked the school. Their uniforms were slightly altered, while the other grunts had red uniforms with black gloves and black boots, these two had black uniforms with red gloves and boots. However, it wasn't just their uniforms, it was the way they held themselves, as if they held some higher authority.

"Look James, that one's shaking." Jessie mussed as she eyed Drew. He clenched his jaw and glared at her for the comment.

May looked over at Drew next to her. Jessie was right, Drew was shaking, and that scared her even more. If Drew was scared then that meant they were in some serious trouble. May could feel her own hands start to shake and she tried to calm herself. She wouldn't be able to shoot her bow without steady hands. Drew noticed May's fear and narrowed his eyes. This was no good, if they showed fear, it would give them a disadvantage. He let out a steady breath as he looked over at James.

"So are you just going to stand there taunting us, or are you going to do something?" He asked as the fear was replaced with adrenaline. The others looked at him as if he were crazy for speaking out.

"I like this one James, can we keep him?" Jessie asked as she licked her lips while staring Drew down. Her gaze sent a shiver down his spine.

"Go ahead, we'll give the others to the boss as a present." He said with a wicked smile. They all gulped at the thought.

"Weezing, smoke screen!" James ordered, and his Pokemon filled the entire area with blinding smoke.

The group covered their faces as they coughed.

"I. Can't. See." May coughed out as she tried to spot the two goons.

"Flygon, blow it away!" Drew called out with his sleeve covering his mouth.

Flygon easily blew away the smoke, but as it disappeared, so did they two villains. The group frantically looked around as Arbok jumped out from the trees and wrapped itself around Flygon. Flygon let out a cry as his wings were pinned and he fell to the ground with the snake wrapped around him. The two Pokemon struggled, but it was easy to see that Arbok had a strong hold.

"Blaziken, flamethrower!" May commanded. Blaziken shot out a powerful flame, but Arbok let go of Flygon at the last minute to dodge the attack, which then instead, hit Flygon. The Pokemon cried out as he was thrown back by the attack. Drew glared at May. "Nice one," He hissed. She replied with a meek sorry.

Before any of them could make another move, a sludge attack was shot out of the trees and into Ivysaur and Arcanine's eyes. The two Pokemon cried out as they tried to remove the gunk from their vision to no avail.

"Cheap move!" Gary yelled out in the direction the attack came from.

Leaf ran to her Pokemon, only to be caught by Arbok. The Pokemon wrapped itself tightly around her and she let out a cry of pain.

"Leaf!" May and Gary cried out as soon as they heard their friend scream. Drew instantly ran toward her, but was stopped by James. The two immediately clashed swords and began a struggle of strength.

May aimed her bow at the snake, but was afraid to release the arrow in fear of it moving and hitting Leaf instead.

"Make a move and I'll have him crush her," Jessie said, reappearing from the forest as Gary started forward.

"Let her go," Gary warned.

"Or what twerp?" She said with a smirk. Just then May released an arrow that flew passed Jessie's face, but not without cutting the skin on her cheek, causing a line of blood to run down her chin.

"Or the next one goes through your eye." May warned as she readied another arrow.

"You little brat!" Jessie seethed as she put her hand up to her now cut face. "How dare you damage my beautiful face!"

Arbok instantly released Leaf and headed straight toward May, but was cut off by Blaziken.

"Sky upper cut!" May called out. Blaziken threw his fist up and slammed into Arbok's chin, sending him flying back and crashing next to Jessie.

As May fought with Jessie, Drew was struggling against James. He was managing to hold his own, but he felt himself growing tired too quickly. He was now regretting the no break thing. James slashed at Drew with his sword which Drew was barely able to avoid. He brought down his own sword, which James parried. Drew jumped back before James was able to slice at his neck. He let out a shaky breath, if he hadn't moved in time he would have lost his head. Just then his attention was diverted when he heard May cry out as Arbok shot a poison sting at her. Luckily Blaziken stopped the attack, but it was just the distraction James needed to get close. Then before he could move, James sliced his sword across Drew's abdomen. He hissed in pain as he fell to his knees clutching his stomach. Flygon immediately flew to his aid, but was tackled by Weezing.

"We're getting destroyed!" Gary said as he helped Leaf get to safety. Ivysaur and Arcanine had managed to get the sludge out of their eyes and looked to their trainers for a command.

"Arcanine, get Mr. Briney out of here." Gary instructed. With a nod, Briney climbed on Arcanine's back and the Pokemon took to the forest.

"Ivysaur, stun spore." Leaf said to her Pokemon. He nodded his head as he released a cloud of yellow powder. Leaf and Gary quickly covered their faces with their shirts, being careful not to breathe in the spore. Blaziken noticed the spore and grabbed May, then jumped into the trees and out of the area. Drew pulled his shirt over his face as Flygon slammed Weezing away and flew over to him. He flew down to Drew who barely managed to hold onto his neck as he flew him out of the range of the attack. Jessie and James didn't realize what the attack was quick enough, and were paralyzed on the spot. The group then got out of there as quickly as they could.

They all made it out of the area to safety, and found Arcanine was waiting with Mr. Briney by a small pond. Blaziken jumped from the trees and landed next to them while setting May back on the ground.

"Thanks Blaziken," She said as Leaf and Gary ran up with Ivysaur. "That was smart thinking," May said to her friend as they came to a stop in front of her.

"Thanks," Leaf said as she caught her breath.

"Where's Drew?" Gary asked as he looked around.

Flygon then came from the sky and landed as he let out a cry of worry. Drew fell off his back and hit the ground with a thud. May let out a gasp as she ran toward his non-moving form.

"Drew!" She called to him as she rolled him over. A spasm of pain contorted his face as he clutched his stomach.

"He's been hurt!" She yelled to the others as they ran over and leaned over him.

"I can make something to stop the bleeding." Leaf stated as she stood up and ran to the forest to gather some plants.

Gary took off his vest and pushed it against Drew's stomach, despite his painful protests.

"We have to stop the bleeding," Gary told him.

"It doesn't look too deep. You're going to be okay," May said shakily as she brushed Drew's hair off of his sweat covered forehead. She wasn't sure if she was saying it to reassure him or herself.

Without a word, Drew grabbed her hand to get her attention.

"Can't...stay..." He managed to mutter, and she quickly shushed him.

May looked over at Gary, "How long before they come after us again?"

"The stun spore won't wear off for a half hour at least," He replied.

Gary's jaw clenched as he felt blood start to seep through the vest. At this rate Drew was going to bleed to death.

"Blaziken, go help Leaf." May told her Pokemon. Blaziken quickly ran off to help Leaf with whatever concoction she was making.

"I have a good friend in Oldale Town." Briney spoke up. "I can't guarantee that the town hasn't been attacked, but if it hasn't, he could help."

May and Gary shared a look. "It's worth a shot." He said as he looked back to the forest as Leaf came running up with a jar in her hand.

"I didn't have all my usual tools, but using what I found around here and what I had in my bag I managed to make something." She said as she scooped some strange substance out of the jar.

"Pull up his shirt," She said and Gary followed her instructions.

They all cringed at what they saw, the wound was bad. It was no wonder Drew was in so much pain.

"You're going to have to hold him down, this is probably going to hurt." She said and with that they braced themselves.

As soon as Leaf touched him, Drew let out hiss from the pain. He started thrashing around as she tried to spread the medicine over his wound. Gary instantly held him down as May grabbed his hands. May's heart broke at the cry of pain he made as Leaf treated him. His frantic spasms seemed to last forever, until he finally stopped moving. She let out a sigh of relief as Leaf finished wrapping him up. He was out cold, the only indication of life was his raspy breathing.

"I laced it with some sleep powder, he should be out for a while." Leaf said as she stood up. The bleeding had finally almost stopped, but he wasn't exactly out of the woods yet.

May stared at Drew's sleeping form. If that James guy could do this to Drew, none of them stood a chance. They had to get out of the forest, and get Drew real medical attention. They only had one option and May didn't know if it was safe, but one thing was for sure, if Oldale Town was taken over, then Drew could die.

* * *

**Sorry that I took forever to post this chapter, but hey I have a life :P Thank you everyone who has favorited/followed, you're all my inspiration! Thank you Ready to Fly for your kind words! :)**

******Also, to I'll Break Your Heart: Yup, Red is going to play a pretty big part in this story! And yes, there will be other manga characters, I'm using characters from all of the Pokemon Universes so you'll never know who I could decide to throw in, but I will tell you that, yes, Lyra will probably make an appearance. ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

With Drew carefully placed on Arcanine's back, the group made their way toward Oldale Town in hope that they could find help. It didn't take them long to find the edge of the forest, and they let out sighs of relief as they made their way out of the trees.

"Oldale Town is just over that hill," Briney said as he pointed to a small hill just ahead of them.

"What'll we do if The Oppression has taken it over?" Leaf asked as she took a nervous glance at Drew's unconscious form.

May glowered at her friend. "That's not going to be the case," She stated firmly as she started toward the hill with a look of determination. Gary clenched his fists as he followed after her. While he didn't share her optimism, it was his friend's only hope, and he silently prayed to himself that May was right. As the two made it to the top of the hill they stopped with wide eyes. May let out a gasp as she fell to her knees. Gary paused next to her with a blank expression. Neither one could utter a single word. May was overwhelmed with relief as she let out a shaky breath. The town was in perfect shape, with no signs of The Oppression to be seen.

Panic flooded Leaf's brain as she watched May fall to her knees. Was she so upset that the town was gone that she couldn't even stand? Wanting to see for herself, Leaf ran up the hill, followed by Briney and the Pokemon. Much to her surprise, and delight, she saw a safe and quiet town. She couldn't help the small joyful laugh that escaped her lips. She had never seen such a wonderful sight.

"It's a miracle!" Leaf cried out as she ran down the hill toward the town. May and Gary laughed at her antics before following after her, the rest of the group close behind.

They received a few questioning stares as they ran through the town, heading toward the largest building. They burst through the door, scaring the unsuspecting people inside.

"We need some help!" May shouted to them.

"May? Is that you?" The man in charge questioned as he appeared from behind a few people in lab coats. He was wearing a lab coat of his own, and had brown hair, with a short brown beard to match.

"Professor Birch? What are you doing here?" She exclaimed.

"We moved my lab closer to the Petalburg Woods so we could research the Pokemon habitats better. What are you doing here?" He asked as he looked over her messy state.

"My friend, he's hurt." She said as she motioned toward Drew. Birch's gaze followed hers and found the injured boy.

"Oh dear. Take him to the other room!" He called over to his assistants. They worked quickly, moving him onto a gurney and carting him away.

"Is he going to be okay?" Leaf asked.

"Don't you worry about a thing. Treating Pokemon and humans isn't really so different." He assured her as he followed after his assistants.

The group finally relaxed a little as they all sat down.

"I wasn't aware you knew the professor," Briney said to May.

She froze as she looked over at all their faces staring at her.

"Oh yeah, I've known him for years. He's good friends with my parents and I grew up with his son." She said sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head nervously.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about that?" Leaf questioned.

"I didn't really think it was important." May replied as she avoided her friend's gaze.

Noticing her discomfort, Gary decided to change the subject. "It was just lucky that The Oppression hasn't been here."

Mr. Briney nodded his head in agreement. "Lucky indeed. Your friend is in good hands now," He said as he stroked his beard.

"But how long until those two come after us?" Leaf inquired.

Gary gulped at the thought of those goons coming after them again. It wasn't as if it weren't obvious that their group would come here. It was the closest town, that also happened to be free from The Oppression, not to mention one of them was injured. When it came to tracking them down, the town would be the first place to look. Then again, there were only two of them. If they came around the town looking for trouble, the towns people would probably put up a fight. No, the two of them alone wouldn't dare an attack, but that doesn't mean they couldn't call in reinforcements. Gary shivered at the thought. They had to get out of the town as fast as possible, but with Drew injured, there was no telling how long it would take before he's up and around.

"We'll just have to keep our guard up," May answered for Gary, seeing that he was lost in thought.

They then sat in silence until Professor Birch finally made his way back out to them. "Your friend is going to be okay," He said with a smile. They all sighed in relief at the news.

"Who made that impressive medicine?" He asked.

"Leaf did, she's really good with that kind of stuff." May said as she motioned toward her friend.

Leaf blushed as she fiddled with her hands. "I'm alright," She said modestly.

"Alright? You're incredible. Have you ever considered working in a lab?" He questioned.

"No, I think I work better out in the world, not cooped up in a lab." She replied.

"Too bad, you'd be pretty helpful here." He mused as his gaze landed on Mr. Briney. "What happened to all of you anyways?" He finally asked as if he had just realized they were all covered in blood and dirt.

* * *

"I see, so the academy is gone. I'm sorry to hear that." He said after they had told him all that had happened. "But I bet your parents are just fine," He said to May. She gave him a weak smile. He then turned his attention to the old man sitting across from him. "I'm not sure if Briney was lucky to have found you kids, or if you were lucky he found you."

"I'd say we were all lucky," Gary said with a shrug.

"Not all of us," May said quietly. They all frowned at her comment.

Birch put a hand on her shoulder, "I said he was going to be alright, didn't I?" He stated.

She replied with a meek nod of her head. Looking to change the subject, his eyes found Blaziken.

"I see Blaziken is looking well." He said and Blaziken gave him a nod. "In fact, you all have such great looking Pokemon. Would you mind if I checked them out?" He asked with excitement.

They all shrugged as he ran over to inspect all of the Pokemon. "Incredible, how do these Pokemon keep such healthy coats?" He pondered to himself as he ran his hand through Arcanine's fur, and then lifted up his giant paw to inspect it. The Pokemon looked uncomfortable as the man continued to look them over with enthusiasm.

"He sure seems, interesting." Leaf commented.

"The Professor, is a good man." Briney said with a nod.

"Um, Professor," May spoke up. Birch turned his attention from the Pokemon, to the young girl. "How is it, that you haven't heard about The Oppression's attacks?" She inquired.

"Good question. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to communicate with anyone outside of town for some time now. A few groups set out to Little Root Town and Petalburg City to see if they could find anything out, but they never returned. It appears that The Oppression's first step, was to cut off communication throughout the region." He replied.

"That's smart." Gary remarked. They all turned their attention to him. "It's the first thing you'd want to do when taking a place over. If they can't communicate, the region will become a confused mess. No one would be able to call for help."

"That's exactly what happened in Kanto," Leaf stated.

"It's only a matter of time before they take this town too," A new voice chimed in. Their heads all whipped around to find Drew clinging to the door way catching his breath.

"What are you doing? You should be resting!" May yelled at him.

"I'm fine," He argued as he used the wall to hold himself up as he walked over to them.

"Clearly you're not," Leaf retorted.

"It doesn't matter, we need to move on before those two goons come here looking for us. We're just putting this town in danger by being here." He told them.

They all frowned, knowing he was right. Birch looked around at the lifeless group.

"I think you all need a good rest and a change of clothes before you go anywhere," He said.

"But-" Drew tried, but the Professor cut him off.

"I insist," He stated firmly.

Birch was right. The group was exhausted, not to mention Drew's injury. They could all do with some food and rest. Their clothes were also torn and bloody, so perhaps some new clothes wouldn't be a bad idea either. They decided to go with what he said and stay the night.

* * *

The next day, the group was ready to hit the road. They had all gotten a much needed good nights rest, not to mention, a wonderful meal prepared by Birch himself. That morning they also went to the small store in town and picked up some new clothes. Drew had gone with a black long sleeve shirt, with an open purple collared short sleeve shirt over it. He had light blue pants and dark shoes along with it. May went with a red, white, and blue shirt that went well with her bandanna, along with skin tight shorts. She had a small yellow bag around her waist and matching shoes. Leaf wore a light blue tank top with a red skirt and a yellow bag slung over her shoulder. She also picked out a white hat with a pink design. Gary had a black collared shirt with dark purple pants and black shoes. Leaf had taken the school's crest off of their school uniforms, and attached them to each of their bags. It was her way of making sure that they could keep a memory of their school.

They all stood outside of Birch's Lab saying their goodbyes. He had made sure that they were well rested and had plenty of supplies for their journey.

"Thank you for everything," Drew said to Birch as he shook his hand.

"It was nothing. Especially not for little May." He beamed. May blushed from behind Leaf. "Just make sure you get there safely." He said as he stared at May. There seemed to be some unspoken conversation between them before May finally nodded. They all said their final goodbyes as they headed for Slateport City.

"Are you sure you're okay to be traveling?" May asked Drew as they walked. He was riding on Flygon and it was easy to see that even just sitting up was taking its toll on him. He turned his head to glare at her.

"I'm fine," He assured her. May and Leaf shared a knowing look. Of course Drew was too proud to admit he wasn't feeling well. Luckily the group had learned their lesson and planned to take rests often. However, May still kept a close eye on the green haired teen. They estimated the journey would take a little over a day, possibly more with their frequent rests.

After walking around half a mile, Blaziken noticed something. "Blaze!" He called to his trainer. May turned back to see what her Pokemon wanted, and spotted it quickly. From back in the direction they came, there was a large pillar of smoke. She stopped in her tracks and stared wide eyed. The others also turned around, and were left speechless. It had to be Oldale Town.

"Professor!" May called out as she started back toward the town.

Gary instantly reached out and grabbed her arm. "There's nothing you can do now." He told her.

"But it's our fault!" Leaf exclaimed.

"No it's not. They would have looked for us in that town even if we never stopped there." Drew commented.

"The Professor knew they were at risk." Gary added.

"All we can do is put some distance between us and that town while they're searching it." Briney stated.

A tear slid down May's face, and she quickly wiped it away, as she turned around and started walking away from the smoke. The others watched her with sadness, then followed after her. She just hoped the Professor would be okay.

* * *

When it started to get dark, the group decided to stop and camp for the night.

"What if they catch up to us?" Leaf asked as they sat in front of the fire Blaziken made.

"They won't," Gary assured her.

She didn't look to believe him as she stared wearily into the fire. May stood up from her spot by the fire and made her way over to Drew, who was sitting against a tree next to Flygon.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she sat down next to him.

"Better, Professor Birch really knew what he was doing." He answered.

May frowned at the thought of the professor. "I'm sure he's fine," Drew added when he saw her expression.

"I'm sure he is, but I still can't help but worry. He's an old family friend after all." She said as she fiddled with a stick she found on the ground.

The two sat in an awkward silence, neither knowing what to say. Drew took the time to study May's face. Her features were pretty average, but still pretty, although it was her sapphire eyes that stood out. He couldn't help but notice the shine that was usually present in her eyes, was replaced with a dullness. The stresses and worries seemed to have taken their toll on the girl. Drew couldn't help but wish he knew a way to bring the shine back to those beautiful eyes. He missed the way her whole face lit up when she smiled.

"What are you staring at?" May asked, breaking Drew out of his trance.

"You look tired, you should sleep," He said avoiding the question.

"Fine," She said as she leaned against the tree right next to him.

He stiffened from the closeness as she rested her head on his shoulder. He felt himself relax as he listened to her steady breathing. He was rather amazed at how quickly the girl fell asleep, and he soon found himself dozing off as well.

When Drew woke up the next morning he was disappointed to find May was no longer next to him. He looked over their camp to find her sitting in front of what was left of their fire. Gary and Leaf were cuddled next to each other against Arcanine, while Mr. Briney was sleeping peacefully in a pile of leafs.

"How long have you been awake?" He asked her as he slowly got up and went to sit next to her.

"I took over watch from Leaf a couple of hours before sunrise." She said as she poked the non-existent fire with a stick.

"Why didn't anyone wake me for a shift?" He asked sounding frustrated by the baby treatment.

She glanced at him not bothering to reply since he already knew the answer.

"We should wake the others and get moving." May said as she stood up. Drew stared at the ground for a minute before he stood up too. He looked over just in time to see Leaf wake up and realize she was cuddled up next to Gary. She let out a shriek as she smacked him in the head yelling something about him being a pervert. Drew couldn't help but chuckle at the cry of pain his friend made as he woke in confusion.

"Well you're all lively in the morning," A familiar feminine voice said from within the forest.

The group all froze as they recognized who it belonged to. Their heads turned to the direction the voice came from.

"H-how did they find us already?" Leaf stuttered as she started to shake.

"Did you honestly think you were going to get away?" James asked as he walked out from behind a tree.

The group instantly got into battle stances.

"You may have been lucky last time, but this time you're coming with us," Jessie told them in a fierce voice.

May looked over at Drew. He looked like he could hardly even hold up his sword. He wouldn't be any use against them this time. Gary was pretty good with a sword, but she wondered if he'd be able to fight that James guy, when even Drew couldn't. She doubted Leaf's plan from last time would work again. Her mind raced to find some way out of their predicament.

Without warning James started forward and before anyone could blink, his sword pierced through the unsuspecting Mr. Briney. Leaf let out a scream as the others gasped in surprise. May shot an arrow at James, but he quickly removed his sword and jumped out of the way, as Briney sank to the floor.

"You monster!" May screeched as she shot another arrow at James, but he used his sword to cut it down before it got to him.

"We don't need a pathetic old man. Our interest is in strong young trainers only. Anyone else is cut down on the spot." James told her coldly.

"That's sick!" Leaf yelled at him.

James merely laughed at her outburst. May eyed the old man coughing up blood on the ground and rushed off to him. As soon as she moved, James was after her. In an instant Drew cut him off and their swords clashed.

"I'm amazed you're still alive kid. But can you handle round two?" James mocked as he pushed forward. Drew let out a cry of pain as he clutched his stomach and fell to the ground. "Didn't think so," He said as he smirked at the green haired teen.

"I'll take you on!" Gary called out as he rushed the lavender haired man. The two were then locked in a harsh sword fight. Flygon and Arcanine ran toward their trainers, but were stopped in their tracks by Arbok. The snake Pokemon used a glare attack and paralyzed the other two Pokemon on the spot.

Leaf noticed it was her time to act, and she had Ivysaur use vine whip on Arbok. The two Pokemon then began a struggle of strength as they pulled against each other. Weezing rushed in to help Arbok, but was cut off by an angry looking Blaziken.

Jessie took this moment to attack Leaf, and while she wasn't as good with a sword as James, it was easy to see she was over powering Leaf. Meanwhile, May was kneeling over Briney. She took some bandages out of her bag and pressed them against his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"You're going to be okay," She tried to assure him. He coughed up more blood as he eyed the teen sadly. He wasn't upset about dying, he was after all an old man, he'd lived his life. He just wished he'd had enough time to properly help the group of lost teens.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture. He shakily handed it to May. She looked at him questioningly as she looked down at the small picture. It was a younger Briney and next to him stood a young boy, behind them was a boat.

"This is my boat. You'll find it at the docks in Slateport. Use it to get to Johto." He whispered.

"No, you're going to take us to it. You're not going to die here!" She told him as she held back tears.

"Don't worry about me. I'm just an old sailor. But take care of Peeko for me." He coughed out. Said Pokemon, let out a sorrowful cry next to him.

"Okay, I can do that." She said as she held onto his hand. It was clear to her that he had no chance of living.

James had gotten the upper hand on Gary, and had managed to knock him to the ground. Gary panicked as his sword was knocked away and he was now defenseless. James stood over him with a wicked smile.

"Well, I think I'll kill you. I'm sure the boss won't mind one less twerp." James said as he held his sword up, ready to pierce it through him. Just as he was bringing the sword down he stopped. He looked down to find a sword protruding from his chest. The sword in his hand clattered to the ground as he turned around to find a panting Drew behind him.

"I'm sure your boss. Won't mind. One less lackey either." He said in between breaths while still clutching his stomach.

With a look of pure shock, James fell to the ground and Drew removed his sword from the non-moving body. Jessie paused as she noticed there were no longer sounds of a fight from the boys. She glanced over to find James no longer standing. Her vision blurred with rage. Had they really managed to kill James? That's impossible for simple teenagers.

"I'll kill you all!" She screamed as she turned on Leaf. She was no longer toying around, using all her might she slammed her sword against Leaf's causing the young girl to loose her grip, and her sword to fall to the ground. As soon as May saw this she grabbed her bow and shot an arrow. It hit Jessie in the chest, and she too fell to the ground. When their Pokemon noticed their trainers were both down, they instantly fled. May couldn't help but wonder what kind of Pokemon abandoned their partners.

The group of teens all stayed where they were, unsure if either villain would get back up. When they felt they were safe they all gathered around the dying Briney.

"What can we do?" Gary asked.

"There's nothing we can do," Leaf said quietly as she looked over the old man.

"Don't. Look so sad . I'm just sorry. I couldn't have. Been more help," Briney managed to choke out.

"No, if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have even made it this far." Drew assured him. "So, thank you." The others all added in their own thanks, and Briney managed a smile.

"Thank you. For giving an old man a purpose," Briney said as his eyes slowly close. The group of teens watched as his chest slowly stopped moving.

"Mr. Briney?" Leaf whispered.

"He's gone," Gary stated. Peeko let out a sorrowful cry as he flew circles around the group.

Drew stood up, and the others eyed him wearily. He clenched his fists as a scowl made its way onto his face.

"We're going to make them pay." He said silently.

Gary stood up as he looked over at the two other still bodies on the ground. "If you haven't noticed, we already did." He said.

"Not just them. All of them. I'm going to make all of them pay for everything. For the school, for Professor Birch, for Mr. Briney, for everything." He stated as his gaze met his friends.

Gary shivered under Drew's intense gaze. He'd never seen him so upset before.

"I'm with you," May stated as she too stood up with a sense of determination.

"Me too," Leaf followed after her.

They all looked over to Gary. He smirked as he shoved his hands in his pocket. "Well lets get to Johto," He said as he looked over his friends.

They were going to find Red, and they were going to stop this war.

* * *

**So sorry I took forever to post this! I had a lot going on. I hope this was worth the wait. I actually feel really bad for killing Briney. Also, I hope you caught that their new outfits are just what they wear in the show/games, to me it makes it easier to picture them in what they usually wear. Anywho, thanks to everyone that reviewed or favorited! :) Oh and to I'll Break Your Heart, your words are too kind, and I'm a Lyra/Silver shipper too! I like your style! ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

The group walked in silence as they made their way to Slateport City. After burying Mr. Briney, the reality of the situation sunk in. Death was part of the war, they were all very much aware of that, but it was the first time they could have stopped it, but failed. They each felt a pang of guilt, thinking if there was something they could have done, perhaps the old man would still be around. Peeko was perched on May's shoulder. She had promised to care for the small Pokemon, and that's exactly what she was going to do. Without it's partner, a Pokemon could easily die from depression. The bond between a trainer and their partner Pokemon was strong, and it was easy to see that the Wingull was feeling the loss of her very long time friend.

"There it is!" Gary called out. The three other teens followed his gaze to find that Slateport was finally within their sights.

"What a sight for sore eyes," Leaf said with a sigh of relief.

"Or maybe not," Drew said in a serious tone, as he took notice of the shape the city was in.

The group hid within the forest as they watched a group of grunts walk by. There was a line of people chained together by the docks. It looked as though they were going to be put on a ship and transported. Taking a closer look, they saw that the people in chains looked awfully young, and not just that. They were wearing very familiar outfits. They were the outfits the group had worn not too long ago.

"Those are kids from our school!" Leaf exclaimed only to be shushed by Drew next to her.

"Where are they taking them?" Gary asked as they all stared at the line of their terrified classmates.

May eyed the group of students carefully trying to see if she knew any of them. Most of them were younger and only slightly familiar to her, until she saw one that instantly caught her attention.

He was at the back of the line, and the only one wearing a red tie, a clear indication he was a senior. A grunt shoved him forward, and he said a remark defiantly, earning him a hit to the face. The other students all flinched as the oldest among them fell to the ground. He got back up as he wiped the blood from his mouth, and looked over to reassure the younger ones.

"Ash," She whispered as she watched her friend.

'_So he's okay,' _She thought to herself. She was filled with relief to see him. Despite the situation he was in, it was easy to see that he was remaining calm, if not for himself, then for the younger kids with him. It was just like Ash to look out for others. She smiled to herself as he gave a reassuring smile to the other kids that were chained up with him, causing them to slightly relax.

Drew looked over at May as she stared at her friend. He couldn't help but feel a small pang of jealousy. He instantly shook it off as he looked back to the docks. Ash was her friend, as well as his, it was only natural that she'd be relieved to see him unharmed. Especially when she had to watch as he was taken away. There were only about ten kids chained together, and Drew wondered where the rest were. There were far more than that taken from the school.

"Do you think they're going to one of those brainwashing places?" Leaf wondered aloud.

The group all froze at the thought. It made the most sense. If the rumors were true, they could turn anyone into one of their grunts. Students from one of the academies would be perfect for it. They were well trained, so it was no wonder the grunts were only taking the students that could hold their own. They were going to brain wash them.

"We can't let them be taken away," May whispered over to Drew.

The green haired teen glanced over at her and then back to the docks. She had a point, even if she only wanted to save her friend. If that group got brainwashed it would mean less allies, and more enemies. The less grunts they had to fight, the better. The only problem was how they were going to save them. There were grunts all over the city, not just the group of them at the docks. It was easy to see they were outnumbered, not to mention Drew was injured. He knew he wouldn't put up much of a fight.

"So what do we do?" Leaf asked him and he shook his head.

"I have no idea," He stated in defeat as he watched his chained up classmates be shoved toward the ship.

They were out of time to think. It was either take action now, or watch as their fellow students were taken away. He opted for the first option. If they could take out the group of grunts at the dock, and get out of there before the one's in the city noticed, they might just get away. In one motion he signaled Flygon, jumped on his Pokemon, and flew toward the docks. The other three teens stood in shock for a minute before following after their friend with their own Pokemon behind them.

The chained teens looked up in surprise as Drew flew over them and brought his sword down, cutting down the grunt leading them toward the boat. Before they could even register what was happening, Leaf rushed over with Ivysaur, who managed to use a razor leaf to cut off the chains.

"This way!" Gary called out to the now free teenagers. The group of ten ran toward Gary only to be cut off by a couple of angry grunts. May jumped into action and shot down one of the grunts, while Leaf clashed swords with the other. The ten teens took advantage of the moment and followed Gary into the forest, all but one. Ash ran back and took the sword of the grunt May shot down. He then started toward the ship that his small group was going to be put on.

"Ash, where are you going?" May called after him.

He paused only for a minute to turn around and tell her, "I'm going to get Pikachu!" With that said he ran into the ship. May quickly followed after him, much to Drew's protests. Drew was ready to go after them, until he saw a group of grunts coming their way.

"We have to hold them off." He yelled over to Leaf as she finished off the grunt she was fighting.

The group of five grunts made it over to them with their Pokemon. Drew jumped down from Flygon as his Pokemon joined Blaziken and Ivysaur in the battle against the grunt's Pokemon. Gary made his way from the forest and cut down a grunt that was about to stab Leaf. She muttered a thanks as she moved on to another. Drew had managed to take out one, but regretted it as he clutched his stomach hoping he hadn't opened his stitches. While Gary fought the fourth grunt, the fifth made his way over to the pained Drew. But just before the man could reach him, an arrow pierced through his neck. May and Ash had finally emerged from the ship with a collection of stolen Pokemon, including Ash's Pikachu. With the additional numbers, the grunts realized they were out matched and ran into the city for back up.

"Let's get out of here before they come back," Gary called out.

The group made their way back into the forest and met up with the rest of the kids.

* * *

"You guys sure made it right on time," Ash commented as the group hid out in a nearby cave.

"It was just luck. I honestly thought I'd never see you again." May told him as she gave him a bone crushing hug.

"Another minute and you wouldn't have. We'd have been gone just like the others." Ash told her with a frown.

"So you aren't the only ones that were here?" Leaf asked him.

Ash shook his head. "No, there were a lot more of us, but they started putting us on ships and sending us off. We were the last group."

"Where were they taking you?" Gary questioned.

"They call them reprogramming centers," A girl with long blonde hair answered, her tie indicated she was a junior.

"It's where they take their prisoners. And rumor is, it's where they brainwash you into joining The Oppression." The boy with shaggy black hair said next to her.

"Serena, Calem, those are just rumors," Ash told them.

"But are they really?" Drew asked joining the conversation.

The group all stared at him. As much as they wanted to believe the rumors weren't true, deep down they knew that they weren't just rumors.

"So why did you guys come to Slateport City?" Ash asked hoping to change the subject.

The three brunettes all looked to Drew to answer. He rolled his eyes at them and began to explain everything that had happened to their little group since the school was attacked.

"So it really wasn't just the school then. The entire region is gone," Ash said in amazement.

"We don't know for sure, but we'd say that's most likely the case," Drew said with a sigh.

"Our problem now is we need to get to the Johto region." May told her friend. She pulled out the picture Mr. Briney had given her and showed it to him. "Have you seen this boat?"

Ash stared at the picture for a minute, but shook his head. "The only boats left at the docks are boats owned by The Oppression." He said with a frown.

Drew cursed under his breath. That was just their luck. Just then, Blaziken came inside the cave from his watch outside.

"Did they find us?" May asked him with worry. Her Pokemon shook his head as he led a small group of teens into the cave. There were only four of them, but they were all wearing the school uniform. A girl with orange hair was standing in the front. They all instantly recognized their fellow seniors. It was Misty, Paul, Dawn, and Iris. May and Leaf let out girly shrieks as they ran over to their friends.

"You guys! What are you doing here?" Leaf exclaimed as she managed to hug all three girls at once.

"Well when Paul and I managed to escape the academy, we wandered around looking for anyone else that managed to get away. Eventually we found Misty and Iris, and we've been searching for others since." Dawn explained.

"Wow, I can't believe you found us!" May said as she got to give them each a hug as well, but individually.

"Thank Blaziken. If he hadn't spotted us in the woods, we would have walked right passed you guys." Iris stated.

"No way, Ash?" Misty said in a daze as she looked passed her friends and spotted a familiar messy raven head. "I saw them take you away!" She cried out as she ran into his arms. Ash and Misty were an item, something that was relatively new. He hugged her back slowly as if he couldn't believe it was really her.

"Gary, Leaf, May and Drew all saved me, along with the rest of them." He said as he motioned to the other teens in the small cave.

"They wouldn't have had to save you if you didn't run out there trying to take on three guys at once in the first place!" Misty exclaimed as she smacked Ash on the head.

"Sorry!" He cried out as he rubbed the bump that was already forming.

"I just can't believe there's so many of us here." Leaf said thoughtfully.

"There must still be more students out there." Gary added.

"With this many of us, getting you guys a boat wouldn't be too hard." Ash stated.

He certainly had a point. Just because Briney's boat wasn't an option, didn't mean they couldn't get one by other means. The dock was full of ships just waiting to be taken. May looked over at Drew as he contemplated the idea. With eighteen of them, they had a good chance. The only problem was, some of them were unarmed. If they could get more weapons, they'd have a good chance of stealing a boat, and finally getting to Johto. But how? Drew voiced his concerns to the others.

"How about a trap?" Gary mused. The others stared at him to continue. "We send out a distraction to draw out some of them. Then we ambush them and we take their weapons."

"Well it's the only plan we have," Drew stated as he stood up. "So, who's ready to steal a ship?" He asked with a smirk.

* * *

Gary half wondered how he was the one that was volunteered as bait as he walked the streets of Slateport. He grumbled to himself as he turned a corner and came face to face with a small group of grunts. They glared down at him as he slowly started backing away.

"Oops, this isn't where grandma lives. I must be in the wrong neighbor hood." He said as he turned around and ran.

"Stop!" They yelled as they ran after him. He ran back through the streets and led them just inside the forest where a large group of teens were waiting.

Gary turned around and smirked as his friends surrounded him. The grunts stopped in their tracks as they realized they were out manned.

"How about you just drop your weapons, and we'll let you off easy?" Leaf said to them and they immediately dropped their weapons.

After knocking out the grunts and tying them up, the group made their way to the docks. May and Drew went ahead to finalize their plan.

"So which one?" May asked as she and Drew scoped out which ship would be best to steal.

"Preferably one that isn't too big. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves." He replied.

"But we need to have enough room for our Pokemon too," She reminded him.

He nodded as he looked over the many ships. "There," He said as he pointed to one close by.

It was a relatively small ship, not so large as to be really noticeable on the sea. It would easily get them where they needed to go. The two nodded to each other as they went to tell the group. The plan was a simple one. The grunts in the city were on to them now, and were on the search. They had to move quickly if they wanted to get away. A group of them would create a distraction in the city, while the others fought their way to the ship.

"You're sure you don't want to come with us?" May asked Ash as they got ready to part ways.

"Nah, we're going to head back out to look for other students that may have made it out. Just because Hoenn doesn't have any hidden resistance yet, doesn't mean we can't start one." He replied with a grin.

"Good luck," Drew said as he held out his hand. Ash smiled as he shook it.

"Look out for each other okay?" Leaf told her friends.

"Of course, who else will look after Dawn if I don't?" Misty said with a laugh.

"Paul," Iris said playfully, and the girls laughed as he blushed.

With that Ash's group started toward the city to create a distraction.

"Hey Ashy Boy!" Gary called out. Ash turned around to face his childhood rival. "Next time I see you, I hope you'll be less of a loser."

Ash grinned as he replied, "Next time I'll show you who the real loser is!" Pikachu agreed with his comment from on top of his messy head of hair.

Gary smirked as the groups then went their separate ways.

Drew and the other three teens waited in the forest by the docks for a signal from Peeko that Ash's group had done their part. As soon at the Wingull started flying circles over the boat, they knew it was their cue to run to the ship. Of course it wouldn't be that simple and they were cut off by two grunts that were standing guard. Gary easily cut through one, while May shot down the other. With that, they made their way onto the ship.

"Does anyone even know how to drive a ship?" Leaf asked as they made their way toward the helm. May and Gary paused as if they hadn't even thought about it. They almost started to panic when Drew spoke up. "I do," he stated as he turned it on and started messing with the many switches and buttons.

"You do?" The others asked with surprise.

Drew looked up at them as they gave him questioning looks.

"It's just something I learned when I was younger, okay?" He stated sounding annoyed.

Blaziken called out and May ran to the deck to find a large group of grunts making their way toward them.

"Now would be a good time to leave!" She yelled over to Drew. Without warning, the ship lurched forward, but not before a few grunts managed to jump on board.

"Blaziken, flamethrower!" May ordered, and her Pokemon shot a powerful flame that threw the grunts into the sea.

"Woohoo!" Leaf cheered as she ran over to the rail to look over at the ocean as her brown hair danced around her face.

"I can't believe we actually made it," Gary said with a sigh as he sat down next to Leaf.

May made her way back to Drew who was quizzically looking at a map.

"Any chance you know how to get to Johto from here?" He joked.

"Don't tell me you don't know where we're going!" She shouted at him.

"Don't yell at me. At least I know how to drive a boat, I shouldn't have to be a navigator too!" He countered.

Hearing them argue, Peeko flew in front of them before flying out and to the sky in the east.

"Peeko! Peeko is showing us where we need to go!" May exclaimed.

"We're going to follow a bird?" Drew questioned skeptically.

"Do you have a better idea?" She mocked.

With a sigh Drew turned the ship facing east, and the group set off toward the Johto region.

* * *

**So I like this chapter, and not just because Ash was in it being all adorable and such, but because the group is finally on their way! And although this isn't a Ash/Misty or Dawn/Paul story, I felt the need to throw them in there, at least for a little bit. Hey at least you know what they're up to, and they might come back later on.**

******I'll Break Your Heart: Your words really mean a lot. And thank you, I really try to keep them all in character, because it always bothers me when people make them too different and out of character. Also, I'm glad you're looking forward to hearing about their pasts. They each have their own story that will be revealed at some point, and yes it will cause drama! I feel all giddy just thinking about it! ;)**

******LXie: Yup I killed them, and I feel no regrets (Insert evil face here). And Meowth isn't in the story for the very simple fact that in the story there is only one partner Pokemon with one person, and I felt that Meowth would just be out of place in their group without a trainer. But who knows, I may throw him in there eventually.**

******And once again thanks to all who read this story, whether you review, favorite, follow, or none of the above, just the fact that you're reading makes me happy. So kudos to all of you :D**


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